Landing at the Lisbon airport was refreshingly efficient, as we quickly collected our bags and ordered our Uber into town. As much as I like public transportation and the Metro system in Lisbon specifically, I can’t imagine not using an Uber to get to or from the airport in the future. For 12 Euros, we were at Elsa’s apartment in about 20 minutes.
Amanda captured me ordering the Uber at the airport.
When we arrived, we were greeted by Elsa and her husband Jeff for a quick re-orientation of the apartment where we had stayed the past two years. They highlighted a few recent updates including how to operate the portable gas heater. With lows in the upper 50s, we found ourselves using the heater the very first night, in stark contrast to our past visits to Lisbon in the middle of summer.
The kids were super happy to be playing with the toys at Elsa’s apartment.
With a little help from Noah, Emmie had fun putting together the 100-piece puzzle at the apartment.
Beyond the gas heater and a new shower setup, the biggest change was something we first noticed with a for sale sign. It was outside the apartment of Elsa’s former downstairs neighbor, who had left us multiple notes about noise on each of our stays. While we of course want to be thoughtful of surroundings each time we stay away from home, this definitely allowed some more relaxing rules for the kids to explore the apartment and play freely.
The For Sale sign was a welcome sight on the apartment below Elsa’s.
I grabbed a few essentials from the nearby mini-market and then took Noah with me for ice cream at Mu Gelateria. I tried the largest size available so I could sample four flavors in my cup, while Noah went with his past-favorite OREO ice cream in a cone. After ice cream, we reconvened with the girls to walk down the street to A Graca Family Restaurant, a tradition for each trip to the city.
Essentials from the nearby mini market.
Back to our family restaurant!
We recognized the owners but this time around a new waitress was there who was extremely helpful in translating the menu from Portuguese. Even with the assistance, neither Amanda or I received the food we were expecting, but the kids had no problem getting their omelets. Noah was much more into the omelet than Emmie, but with his earlier ice ream snack, he still had more leftovers than we would have expected for his favorite place.
Once Emmie and Eilidh were almost asleep, Noah and I left the apartment to explore Lisbon a bit further. I love the vibe the city has late at night and wanted to maximize our 44-hour stay. Amanda has seemingly caught a bit of Eilidh’s sickness, too, so I think she appreciated the opportunity to hang around home and get a little extra rest.
Eilidh was pumped to use the baby bathtub again!
Noah and I started our exploration at the Armazéns do Chiado Mall, where he picked out a new Fjallraven backpack, this one in black. Other stops included H&M, Starbucks, and Manteigaria for pastel de nata, as we had promised to bring back some of Lisbon’s famous tarts for Emmie for Saturday’s breakfast. By the end of the day, my phone registered 18,800 steps and 7.8 miles of walking, and I’d imagine Noah’s numbers had to have been close.
Noah posed with his new backpack in front of the fnac store where we made the purchase.
Noah posed at the Metro station before our ride home.